With the rise of EDM, or electronic dance music, it has become a dominant genre in mainstream music today. Beyond EDM looks to move away from the dance floor and into your earbuds, bringing you artists and genres to calm your senses and vibes, because you can't always turn up.
With Halloweekend readily approaching (or Halloweek for the brave of heart), DJs and producers may have a remix or two being released unless your name is Figure; this is literally his favorite time to make music. All that aside, there are going to be plenty of exhausted, headache filled mornings where blasting Halloween-themed EDM is going to be a worse idea than all the Taco Bell you consumed last night.
Thankfully, Nym just released a wonderful album Tuesday called "Convex" that is neither Halloween-themed nor will it bolster your headache.
Located in San Francisco, Nym produces down tempo and trip-hop music infused with folk and western themes. This isn't country music over a house or hip hop beat (God forbid), but a tasteful sampling of sweeping horns and strings that come in and out with some twanging guitar that pops in and out of focus to guide the listener from one moment to the next. Listening to his music seems to invoke comparisons to another producer — Pretty Lights.
The back catalog for each artist is vastly different, and sonically, these two diverge in their usage of bass in their music. While Pretty Lights loves the use of low sounds to surround the listener, Nym opts to avoid shoving the deep end on you to let higher sounds have space to breathe. Remember that headache from earlier? There's a reason it doesn't want that bass blaring out of your speakers.
Another group that Nym takes notes from is Emancipator, owner of Loci Records, that released "Convex." Both embrace "folktronica" in many facets, but Emancipator opts for jazz influenced songs with ethereal violins and a somber atmosphere, while Nym leans toward crafting more uplifting tracks, preferring guitars and other folk instruments.
The result is a fantastic blend of genres that still feels very much like fall, but doesn't abuse and remix horror movie cliches just to cash in on the month of October. For all the pumpkin-spiced remixes that are going to be blasting the next couple days, Nym's "Convex" is a record you can listen to after Halloween.
If you enjoy the musical stylings of Nym, go ahead and listen to formerly mentioned Pretty Lights and Emancipator, along with Bonobo (legendary producer with a deep catalog), Koloto (faster pace and more glitch-hop influenced) and How To Dress Well (trip hop meets R&B).
Reach the reporter at dloche@asu.edu or follow @DMLoche on Twitter.
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